So for the past few years in my current job I have been feeling like I need a change. I do have a study background in Information Systems but ended up going into IT training for a while and then started moving into eLearning development, instructional design and system management. I am now a Learning Manager/consultant and initially thought maybe I just need a company change. or a move to a more technical role in learning. But I recently started exploring other areas and web design and development was an area that I was really drawn to. I started a course on Udemy and was keen to keep learning more. I also started looking into what freelance web development could look like as it is my goal to eventually work full time as a freelancer and combine it with my love for tech training but want to start it on the side to see if the right fit for me. So far I am leaning more towards Web designer with some web development. I have done HTML, CSS and Bootstrap and do like working with an additional tools to support and speed up the process. I have also started dabbing into Wordpress and the Adobe suite. I am at a point where I think might be trying to learn too much. I recently only started with FCC and really like the format so far but don’t know if should just complete the Responsive Web Design cert and maybe learn a bit more advanced Wordpress (PHP, custom themes etc) and start picking up some work from there? I have a friend who wants a small website and was thinking of using either HTML &CSS with Bootstrap or a custom Wordpress site to start. But then I also keep thinking should I also be learning JS and maybe React before deciding what direction I go in. So many options out there! Any advice or thoughts would be welcomed!
“ Alice : Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice : I don’t much care where. The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go ."
I guess what i’m really trying to ask is, does it get easier to figure out what direction you want to specialize in as you get deeper into the learning and complete real practice projects? I would say i’m still at the beginners level of learning or do most folks taking these courses already know they want to be a full stack developer vs front end developer etc.
Yes that has exactly been my experience. I remember well the confusion over what to learn, and what order to learn it in. But just as you suggest I found it all sorted itself out simply by starting doing something and just keep working at it. I gained understanding as I went, learned what the technologies were, and where they all fitted in to the larger puzzle.
There are some pieces you need to learn well no matter what - they are common to all the paths you may eventually end up pursuing. No matter what you will need a solid understanding of html, css, and javascript/jquery. And as you are getting those down I think you will find you will gain a good understanding of what you will need to do next.
Freecodecamp is really excellent to get what you need as far as these basics goes, so maybe start there and see where it leads you. See what you enjoy most, experiment, and have some fun.
Yes and No. Traveling without goals can also be joyful.
But it does not hurt that you have a passion for something. To have a passion makes it easier to set personal goals. Whatever tools you learn, at the end of the day it is about solving problems. Your own or hopefully others.
Its very easy to “start stretching yourself thin” and start feeling like “there is to much to learn!”, because honestly there is. Its basically impossible to know everything at one time since things change to fast.
However this isn’t that bad of a thing, as long as your fine with always learning new things
If your just starting out I usually recommend keeping options open, not to specialize and learn topics in breadth, rather than in depth. The reasoning is so you expose yourself to more topics and technologies where you can get a taste of what is out there. You shouldn’t commit to any one 100% without really considering all your options, which is only possible if you understand what options are out there.
You can keep going with FCC, or try out wordpress, or do whatever you feel like you’d want to learn. There is nothing stopping you from trying out the other options at other times
You can use this as a learning opportunity to build it from scratch, or using wordpress. Assuming there isn’t some hard deadline, or hard requirements beyond “build me a site”, it shouldn’t really matter which option you pick besides picking what you want. You should take into account building something from scratch usually is more work than using wordpress, but it really depends on how complex the site becomes.
